1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to devices for deterring a horse from undesirable behaviors commonly known as “cribbing” and “wind-sucking” and, more particularly, to a collar for deterring such behaviors.
2. Description of the Related Art
Cribbing and wind-sucking are terms that are commonly used to describe related and undesirable behaviors that afflict many horses. These two behaviors are collectively referred to as “cribbing” hereinafter. A horse which suffers from this form of behavior will oftentimes press down on an object with its upper teeth and arch its neck while swallowing air. Individual horses will often vary one or more aspects of this behavior. For example, some horses will arc their neck and swallow air without pressing their teeth on any object. This type of behavior can negatively impact the health of the horse by causing excessive tooth wear and by generating health problems associated with the ingestion of large quantities of air. For example, it is thought that the ingestion of air in such a manner can lead to stomach convulsions, entangled intestines or a loss of appetite resulting in underperformance or undernourishment.
The causes of cribbing are not fully understood but likely differ for individual horses. Some of the factors that are thought to be contributors to this type of behavior are stress, boredom, confinement for extended periods of time and copying of other horses. It is theorized that cribbing releases various pleasure inducing brain chemicals and becomes an addictive habit and cribbing behavior in horses is often described as an equine equivalent to obsessive compulsive disorders found in humans.
Various methods and devices have been developed to discourage this form of behavior. Some of these devices take the form of collars having a feature that engages the throat area of the horse. FIGS. 1-5 illustrate one example of a known anti-cribbing collar 10. Collar 10 includes an upper strap 12 that is connected to a lower portion 14 with two opposing buckles 16. The lower portion 14 includes a semi-circular projection 18 that is formed by wrapping a metal clamp 20 (FIG. 4) with leather. Metal clamp 20 includes forward and rear flanges 22 located on opposite sides of semi-circular projection 24. Lower portion 14 includes two lower straps 26 that extend away from the centrally located semi-circular projection 18. Lower straps 26 have a width that is substantially equivalent to the distance between the forward and rear flanges 22 of clamp 20. In other words the width (W′) of straps 26 is substantially equivalent to the length (L′) of the upwardly projecting semi-circular projection 18.
In use, lower portion 14 is positioned so that projection 18 fits in the horse “throat latch” generally defined as the area between the neck and head/lower jaw bones and generally within the depression between the two lower jaw bones of the horse. Upper strap 12 wraps around the top of the neck and/or on top of the head of the horse to secure lower portion 14 in place. When collar 10 is mounted on the horse, it forms a loop through which tensile forces can be transmitted. Dashed lines 28 schematically depict this tensile loop with projection 18 being disposed within the interior of loop 28. As shown in FIG. 3, the dashed lines depicting the tensile loop extend through the upper strap 12, buckles 16 and lower straps 26. When a horse wearing anti-cribbing collar 10 attempts to crib or ingest air, projection 18 interferes with the full opening of the air passage of the horse to thereby discourage such behavior.
While collar 10 and other known devices which are intended to discourage cribbing have been successful with some horses in deterring such behavior, such known devices do not work with all horses and the prevention of cribbing in horses remains a significant problem. Accordingly, there remains a need for a device that can discourage cribbing behavior in horses without harming the animal.